Category Archives: Job Search

How to answer confidential questions on an employment application

Filling out an application can be filled with land mines if you’re conducting a confidential search, and filling in an application online can be even trickier if the fields require a certain type of answer before letting you progress. This topic was a recent conversation on one of my professional e-lists, and what follows is…

Should I accept a job that I don’t really want?

A client recently called me for advice after receiving an offer for a position which he didn’t want to accept. He wasn’t sure what to do. This scenario is one which unfortunately arises for some job seekers and can play out in two very different ways. As in my client’s case, for someone unemployed one…

Why is my résumé writer giving me homework?

It’s natural to stumble through the beginning steps of developing your new résumé as you hash out the specifics of your job target, the type of job to which you’re best suited, what you want and what you don’t want, which specific industries or locations. An astute professional résumé writer will ask you some pointed…

Six Tips for Professional References

Many job seekers struggle with professional references. Who should be included, what should be revealed, when should they be presented to hiring agents? These six tips will help you identify the most effective way to create professional references and use them in the job search. 1. Context: Select contacts of a professional nature, not those…

New resume? How to use it in your job search.

Send your new resume to any executive recruiters with whom you have an ongoing relationship, and immediately replace any resumes posted on online job boards with your new resume. You could also use your newly developed resume as a reason to touch base with members of your network who had a copy of your previous…

Protecting your social security number during a job search

guardssn

I was speaking with a client last week who asked me about providing your social security number on a job application. It’s a common concern so I wanted to share our conversation here. We all know better than to share our social security number in our day to day life, and your job search is…

Taking my own social media advice

TwitterFriends

The Career Collective’s topic last month was how to use social media for your job search. You can read my post here. For those of you naysayers or those dragging your heels getting started, I wanted to share a real-life case story of how using social media has helped me professionally. In what seems like an eternity ago,…

The early bird catches the worm

earlybird

Are you trying to call to follow up on any of your prior resume submissions? A strong cover letter and resume are very important, but following up can sometimes be what makes a difference – if you can get on the phone with a decision maker and sway them to call you in for an interview….

Social media primer for job seekers

TweetBird

As a member of the Career Collective blogging community of resume writers and career coaches, this post is one of many this month discussing how to use social media in a job search. I encourage you to visit other members’ responses linked at the end of my post and follow our hashtag on Twitter all month…